06/02/2026
"Community colleges should be at the center of the effort to improve local opportunity conditions. They educate people across credit and noncredit programs, preparing people for work in fields such as manufacturing, health care, information technology, cybersecurity, bioscience and other regional industries. They’re local institutions that help people advance and help communities meet their workforce needs. That combination makes community colleges natural builders of a local opportunity map."
America has built a crowded opportunity system. But it hasn’t yet managed to build a clear opportunity map that guides people through that system. The U.S. now has more than 1.85 million credentials, from high school diplomas and college degrees, to short-term credentials, industry certifications,...